


Broken Pedestal

by CatWinchester



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, Thor (Movies)
Genre: Communication, Emotions, Gen, Oneshot, Reconciliation, loki and thor talk like goddamn adults for once
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-08
Updated: 2018-10-08
Packaged: 2019-07-28 06:41:27
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,247
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16236278
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CatWinchester/pseuds/CatWinchester
Summary: AU reimagining of the scene when Loki goes to see Thor in the slave accommodations, only they talk like grownups instead of acting like petty teenagers.





	Broken Pedestal

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks to evieplease for betaing this. Any mistakes left are mine and you can’t have them. :P

“It hurts, doesn't it? Being lied to. Being told you're one thing and then learning it's all a fiction?”

Thor’s first instinct was to lash out, to turn his pain and anguish and confusion into anger and let it loose. His brother had always been a convenient target for his anger, and his turning up here, even in holographic form, felt like an invitation to continue that pattern.

He picked up some of the debris that littered the floor but when a wave of lethargy that washed over him, he just held it in his fist.

At that moment meant he felt every day of his 1,500 years and he couldn’t even find the will to be angry.

“Yeah,” he replied with a weary sigh.

Loki’s mask slipped for a second, his shock showing through his usually faultless façade.

The brothers stared at each other. They were about to enter new territory and were unsure how to proceed.

Loki made the first move, crossing the corridor and sitting down warily next to his brother.

They had been in opposition for so long that it felt strange to be side by side once more, but they had been brothers for far longer than they’d been enemies.

How many times had they sat like this, Loki wondered. Thousands. Probably.

“You have a shadow,” Thor noted. “You’re not a hologram.”

“Some things are better done in person.” Loki shrugged as if breaking in here was child’s play.

Thor looked to the opposite wall. “How _could_ he?”

Loki wished he knew. “Our father had a penchant for locking away things he didn’t like.”

Thor huffed in agreement.

“But a _sister_?” Loki went on.

“How did no one ever mention her?” Thor asked. “There are Aesir as old as Father was, they must remember her.”

“I would guess he used magic, either to alter their memories, or prevent them speaking of it.”

Thor shook his head. “I just . . . I can’t stop thinking about her. I mean, did she know us?”

“She didn’t seem to.”

“Then she’s been locked away for one and a half thousand years.”

“At least,” Loki agreed.

Thor sighed and the brothers lapsed into silence.

In a weird way, Loki felt lucky to have already had his illusions regarding Odin stripped away. He vividly remembered the pain that Thor was experiencing right now, and he was very pleased that he couldn’t experience it again. All he felt, really, was a mild disappointment.

Unless he thought about Odin dying and their last conversation. Oh, that was a prickly ball of emotions that he wasn’t even going to touch until at least his three thousandth birthday.

“How did she get like that?” Thor asked, pulling Loki from his reverie.

Loki turned to look at his brother. “Do you really want to know?” he asked softly.

Thor glanced over. “Of course, she’s our sister! She wasn’t born evil, something _made_ her like that.” The wariness in his eyes belied his words, he didn’t want the truth, even if he needed it.

“What if you don’t like the answer?”

Thor looked away. “Maybe it’s time for some uncomfortable truths.”

“All right,” Loki sighed. “Odin has done a good job of whitewashing his, uh, less stellar deeds but while I was Odin, I had access to his private library. There wasn’t much but there were some tomes with . . . troubling references.”

“Loki, get to the point.” Now that he had decided to hear the truth, he was anxious to get to it, like ripping off a Band-Aid, as his Avenger friends might have said.

“Before Odin, Asgard was a rather basic place. From what I could gather, Odin . . .  well he plundered other worlds for their resources, which he used to build this realm, both physically, and in terms of might and . . .” he let out a heavy sigh. “People were one of those resources.”

“You mean he hired those from other realms? What’s wrong with that, both my hammer and his spear were made by the dwarves of Nidavellir.”

“They weren’t hired, Thor, they were slaves.”

Anger warped Thor’s features for a moment and Loki stiffened as his fists clenched but after a few deep breaths, he made a conscious effort to relax.

“And Hela?”

“There were no mentions of her by name, not even in his private collection, but the Goddess of Death was mentioned as leading his armies, trained personally by Odin, his protege. She was described as striking both awe and terror into the hearts of all who gazed upon her.”

“Wait . . .” Thor’s brow furrowed as he tried to remember something. “Didn’t we learn about the Goddess of Death in history classes? She led Odin’s armies into battle, watched over them, right?”

“Yes, although she was portrayed as a mythical figure more than an actual person. I suppose for some reason Odin couldn’t obliterate her presence altogether, so he warped what he couldn’t hide.”

Thor’s hands closed into fists. “She was his daughter, and Odin forged her into a weapon for his power hungry ways and when he no longer had need of her, he locked her up.”

“Thor!” Loki nodded to his brother’s hand, which was dripping blood.

With effort, Thor opened his hand and found that the scrap of metal he’d picked up has cut into his palm. He’s been in so much psychic pain that he hadn’t even felt it.

He turned his hand to the side and dropped the metal back on the ground.

“Here,” Loki reached over and tore a strip from Thor’s already ruined cape, then tied it around the wound. Both brothers had experience patching up minor battle injuries.

Finished, Loki sat back. He’d been surprised to hear such a frank—not to mention angry—admission from his brother.

“Fifteen hundred years locked up alone,” Thor mused. “That would be enough to make anyone crazy.”

Silence reigned as both sons of Asgard contemplated recent events.

“How do you deal with it?” Thor asked as he prodded at his hand, almost as if trying to cause himself pain.

“Deal with what?”

“The lies, the . . . betrayal.”

“I tried to kill the Jotun, then jumped to my death,” Loki said with a sardonic note to his voice. “I wouldn’t recommend it.”

Thor found a ghost of a smile for his brother’s humour but it quickly faded. He didn't seem to like Loki’s answer.

Loki debated the wisdom of discussing it with Thor but as much as these memories hurt, his brother was suffering. Unfortunately Loki didn't have any way to make things better, he only had the truth.

“You need to realise that he’s not a hero,” he snapped, seemingly irritated to have to talk about real emotions. “You have to take him down off his pedestal and realise that he was just another Asgardian, just another being, as flawed and as petty and as corrupt as the others can be.” He took a breath. “All right, maybe with the slavery and plundering, he’s a little more corrupt than most—”

Thor scoffed.

“—But you have to accept that, and the only way to accept it is to realise that he wasn’t special. The man we worshipped in our childhoods—”

“He wasn’t real,” Thor interrupted, his voice mournful but strong.

“No, he wasn’t . . . Or if he was, he was only one tiny part of a very large picture. A picture that was intentionally hidden from us and everyone else.”

“He never reckoned with his crimes, did he?”

“No,” Loki answered kindly. As much as he hated Odin, he really didn’t like hurting Thor, and the truth was hurting him. “I don’t think he did.”

“Did mother know, do you think?”

“No!” Loki’s answer was immediate and instinctual.

“But she must have. I mean, if she isn’t Hela’s mother, who is?”

Now Loki was silent. What if Frigga _had_ known? She’d kept Odin secret regarding his origins, so clearly her loyalty was to him over her sons. Maybe she _was_ Hela’s mother. Maybe she had, if not supported, then not condemned Odin’s plundering of the other realms. And maybe she had allowed Odin to lock her daughter away.

She’d let Odin banish Thor and lock Loki away, after all.

“You know, sometimes, I really hate you,” Loki muttered.

Thor smiled slightly.

Loki sighed and stretched his legs out in front of himself.

“I can’t believe you came down here in person,” Thor noted, desperate for some conversation that didn’t rip his heart out.

“Believe me, I wish I’d used an avatar.” He looked around, wrinkling his nose in disgust at the grime covering everything..

“After you fell,” Thor began, “what happened to you?”

Loki didn’t answer.

“I know you hate questions about what happened before you came to Earth, but since we’re being honest, I thought you might want to open up, finally.”

When Loki didn’t answer, Thor looked over to see that his brother looked even paler than usual and his eyes were bright with tears. He blinked them back and carefully schooled his features into something neutral.

“Trust me when I say, you don’t want to know.”

Thor knew something terrible must have happened and this just confirmed it. “I won't push, just know that if you ever do wish to talk, I’m here for you.”

“Thank you.” Loki’s voice was slightly croaky with emotion.

They were silent as an unknown slave walked past, raising a hand in silent greeting to them. They watched until he was out of sight.

“So where do we go from here?” Thor asked.

“Well, I suggest you sit tight while I wait for an opportunity for revolution. You lead the slaves, I’ll lead the marauders and once he’s gone, you and I can rule this place together.”

Thor found a smile for his brother’s enthusiasm but it was a daydream, nothing more. Loki knew it too, he just didn’t want to admit it.

“We have to go back.”

“Why?” Loki demanded. “What has Asgard ever done for us? They’ve lied to us, used us to fight their wars. No.” He shook his head. “They deserve no loyalty from us.”

“Yes they do, they were deceived by father every bit as much as we were. It’s not their fault they couldn’t tell us the truth.”

“Isn’t it?” Loki scoffed.

“No,” Thor turned to look at him. “And I know deep down, you know that.”

Loki felt laid bare before him.

“Thor,” he tried to speak but his voice cracked. He coughed and tried again. “We can’t go back. You saw what she did to Mjolnir. Imagine what she’ll do to your head.”

“That’s precisely why we _must_ go back! Better my thick head than an innocent’s, don’t you think?

“No, no I don’t _think_.”

“You’re all I’ve got too, brother.” Thor offered his cheeriest smile. “And trust me, I have no plans to die today.”

“Fine.” Loki huffed in irritation. “But the same plan stands.”

“Can’t we just sneak out?”

“The Grandmaster doesn’t allow anyone to leave. Worst case scenario, he’ll order us killed. Best case scenario, he’ll put a bounty on our heads and kill us himself. In either case, everyone will be out to find us and no one will offer us shelter out of fear of being executed themselves.”

“But you think the people will rebel?”

“There have been rebellions in the past. They failed abysmally, of course, but then again they didn’t have my cunning and your brawn.”

Thor smiled. “And how do we get home?”

“There’s a portal, a wormhole that should take us near to Asgard. In the resulting chaos we should be able to skip the Grandmaster’s security forces and fly into it. We’ll need to steal a ship, of course, but that shouldn’t be hard since I have the access codes.”

“Not that you were thinking of leaving,” Thor teased.

“One never knows when one will need a ship for . . . sightseeing purposes.” Loki grinned back. “Tell the slaves down here you have access to ships as well, it’s their best chance of freedom.”

“We’ll need weapons too.”

“Not a problem,” Loki assured him.

He got to his feet and Thor followed suit.

“Well, I’ll be in contact once things are organised above. I’ll try and be quick about it, I’ve heard his champion is savage.”

“He doesn’t scare me,” Thor said, all bluster and bravado.

“Some things never change,” Loki muttered as he tried to hide his smile.

“Oh, and uh,” Thor pulled at the obedience patch.

“I’m on it. They’ll all have to be disabled before the revolution can begin.”

“How will you get out of here?”

“Same way I got in, teleporting.”

“You can do that now?”

“It’s just astral projection with a little matter manipulation.”

Thor actually looked impressed.

“Besides, I can call on the power of Gungnir now.”

“I wasn't aware you brought the spear.”

“Oh I didn't, but since I technically defeated Odin, Gungnir answers to me now, no matter where it is.”

“That means Hela can’t use it,” Thor liked that idea.

“Right.”

“Even if she has it in her possession?”

“Even then. It’s mine now.”

They stood awkwardly for a moment, then Thor pulled Loki into a hug. It took a beat before Loki hugged him back.

It felt good. Right.

Loki pulled away first.

“Well, good luck.”

“You too.” Thor grinned.

“You know, you’re going to get us both killed,” Loki said as, with a flash of green, he began to fade.

“That’s the spirit,” Thor grinned.  

 


End file.
